Happy Birthday Shikhar Dhawan: 6 incredible records held by 'Gabbar'

Shikhar Dhawan is one of the most prolific openers for Team India. He plays for Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League, while he won the title on an occasion, with Sunrisers Hyderabad. He played a pivotal role in India winning the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.

When it comes to one of the most prolific Indian openers currently, Shikhar Dhawan is one such batsman who is well-known for his sublime batting. Furthermore, it is his consistency that has allowed him to cement his spot in the side.

Ever since his debut in 2010, he has gone on become one of the most productive openers for Team India. Also, it is his exquisite batting technique across formats, that allows him to play an elegant innings, while the bowlers have a tough time in getting rid of him.

Meanwhile, the southpaw from Delhi is celebrating his 35th birthday, as he is showing no signs of slowing down. On this auspicious day, we take a look at six of the incredible records he holds in his career.

Fastest century on debut: It was in 2013 when he made his Test debut against Australia, in Mohali, as he slammed a quickfire 85-ball century. In the process, he became the fastest scoring Test centurion on debut, going past the previous record of 93 balls, by Windies's Dwayne Smith, in 2004.

Century before lunch on Day 1: It was in 2018 when during the one-off Test against Afghanistan, in Bengaluru, Dhawan slammed a century off 91 balls. What was even enjoyable that it came before lunch on Day 1, as he became the first Indian to do so, joining other greats like VT Trumper, CG Macartney, Don Bradman, David Warner and Majid Khan.

Quickest to opening three thousand ODI runs: Dhawan also holds the record of scoring the fastest thousand runs in ODIs. Consequently, he has done so for the first three: 1,000, 2,000 and 3,000.

Fastest to 1,000 runs in ICC tournaments: Dhawan is quite a regular opener for Team India in the ICC tournaments. As a result, he also holds the record for registering the fastest 1,000 runs in the ICC ODI competitions, having done so in just 16 innings. He went past the previous record of fellow Indian, Sachin Tendulkar, who did the same in 18 innnings.

Most T20I runs in a year: Dhawan has been in a rich form for the past few years, while it was in 2018 when he seemed unstoppable, especially in T20Is. He finished as the highest run-scorer in the format during the same year, scoring 689 runs in 17 innings at a decent average of 40.52, including six half-centuries.

First to score consecutive centuries in IPL: It happens to be his latest record. It was during the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) when playing for Delhi Capitals (DC), he became the first player in the history of the tournament to slam consecutive centuries, in two matches.